Ground broken for King memorial

The three towering figures of American history George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln will shortly be joined by a fourth, with ground broken for a national memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Nearly 5,000 people braved winter chills to gather around a 4-acre site on Washington's National Mall on Monday (local time) where a 30-foot statue of King, surrounded by a circle of stone blocks upon which his most famous speeches will be inscribed, is to be erected.

The ground-breaking ceremony was led by US President George W. Bush and attended by members of King's family, as well as former president Bill Clinton, African-American celebrities including talk show host Oprah Winfrey and poet Maya Angelou and civil rights activists.

King, who led resistance to the racist segregationist laws of the southern US, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4 1968.

"The King Memorial will stand on a piece of ground between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials," Bush said. "By its presence in this place, it will unite the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America."

Construction will officially begin on the US$100 million memorial, the first US monument to an African-American, in the spring. It is expected to be finished in 2008.

民权运动领袖马丁·路德·金的国家纪念碑奠基仪式标志着马丁将成为与美国历史上的三巨人——乔治·华盛顿、托马斯·杰斐逊、亚伯拉罕·林肯齐名的第四位巨人。

当地时间本周一，约5000人冒着冬日严寒，聚集在占地4英亩的华盛顿国家纪念碑前。在这里，一个高30英尺，四周环绕圆型石块的马丁·路德·金雕塑将被树立，他最著名的演讲稿也将被雕刻于其上。

美国总统乔治·W·布什主持了奠基仪式，参加仪式的还有金的家人、前总统比尔·克林顿、非洲裔美国人、著名脱口秀主持人奥普拉·温芙瑞和诗人玛雅·安热卢及其他民权运动人士。马丁·路德·金领导了美国南部反对种族分裂法的斗争。他于1964年荣获诺贝尔和平奖。1968年4月4日，马丁在田纳西州的孟菲斯市被暗杀。

   “马丁·路德·金纪念雕像将位于杰斐逊和林肯纪念馆之间的地带，”布什说“它的存在将使宣布美国梦、捍卫美国梦的人与履行美国梦的人站在一起。”   

该建筑将于明年春天开始施工。这是一个造价1000万美元，第一个为非洲裔美国人建立的纪念碑。它将于2008年完工。